A number of recent studies have used Meehl's (1995) taxometric method to determine empirically whether one should model assessment-related constructs as categories or dimensions. The taxometric method includes multiple data-analytic procedures designed to check the consistency of results. The goal is to differentiate between strong evidence of…

Teacher behaviors such as providing frequent opportunities to respond and feedback are known to promote student engagement. In addition, contextual variables such as grade-level and instructional grouping may affect engagement. However, less is known about teacher behavior in these instructional contexts. This study aimed to examine active…

The challenging of assessing formal and informal online learning at scale includes various issues. Many universities who are now promoting "Massive Online Open Courses" (MOOC), for instance, focus on relatively informal assessment of participant competence, which is not highly "quality assured". This paper reports best…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed to encourage a common focus of instruction and evaluation in the areas of mathematics, reading/language arts, writing, speaking, and listening. As of 2011, all but five states have adopted CCSS for math and English Language Arts (ELA), with another adopting only the standards for ELA. With…

Product assessment is widely applied in creative studies, typically as an important dependent measure. Within this context, this study had 2 purposes. First, the focus of this research was on methods for investigating possible rater effects, an issue that has not received a great deal of attention in past creativity studies. Second, the…

Sociolinguistic inputs in language acquisition and use of English as Second Language in classrooms is the main focus of this study. A survey research design was adopted. The population consisted of all secondary school students in Akure Local Government of Ondo State, Nigeria. Two hundred and forty (240) students in senior secondary school classes…

The study examined the Parental Attitude towards Adolescent Sexual Behaviour in Akoko Edo and Estako--West Local Government Areas, Edo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The sample size of 600 parents--350 (58.39%) fathers and 250 (41.7%) mothers--was purposively selected from the two local government…

As a result of this research, a quantitative model and a procedure have been developed to create an online mentoring effectiveness index (EI). To develop the model, mentoring and teaching effectiveness are defined, and then the constructs and factors of effectiveness are identified. The model's construction is based on the theory that…

Background: Self-injury has been described as a "silent school crisis," reflecting insufficient knowledge, confusion, lack of effective interventions, and the tendency for adults and youth to shy away from dealing directly with the issue. This purpose of this study was to identify distinct subgroups of youth who may be at increased risk…

This study primarily investigated the validity and reliability of the writing assessments and their backwash effects on the undergraduates of Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University (IIS-RU). The English-major students had academic writing skills problem, especially among the non-native English speakers, whose writing ability…

High school grade point average and college entrance test scores are two admission criteria that are currently used by most colleges in Yemen to select their prospective students. Given their widespread use, it is important to investigate their predictive validity to ensure the accuracy of the admission decisions in these institutions. This study…

Increasing qualitative evidence in the literature supports specific characteristics and practices, presented from a distributed leadership perspective, to be prevalent in school districts that demonstrate significant increases in student achievement. Quantitative evidence linking these identified district-level characteristics and practices to…

In a provocative and influential paper, Jesse Rothstein (2010) finds that standard value added models (VAMs) suggest implausible future teacher effects on past student achievement, a finding that obviously cannot be viewed as causal. This is the basis of a falsification test (the Rothstein falsification test) that appears to indicate bias in VAM…

Two overlapping issues have given rise to this study: the need for assessment instruments to use with Spanish-speaking Latinos and the need for normative data on current and future Spanish-language instruments. Numerous career assessment instruments exist for the English-speaking population. These instruments may be administered on computer-based…

This study examined the intended and unintended consequences associated with the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) as perceived and experienced by teachers in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). To evaluate teacher effectiveness, HISD is using EVAAS for high-stakes consequences more than any other district or state in the…